W E have said that reciprocation is a productive process, in
part because it is a process of conflict resolution for both the
person and the company. We have discussed the importance of
reciprocation for the resolution of conflicts about dependence,
distance, and change. As we analyzed the components of reciprocation, we noted particularly the relationship of balanced distance
to the variety of sources of gratification available to the person.
We observed also the relationship of interdependence to psychological growth and of change to flexibility under stress. Seen another way, our discussion of interdependence highlighted joint
expectations and joint productivity. Our analysis of distance emphasized individual expectations and personal productivity and
the chapter on change weighted organizational expectations and
organizational productivity more heavily.

In our discussion of reciprocation in chapter VIII we examined
its conflict resolution function for the individual. Let us now
examine in two examples its relationship to the resolution of
organizational conflicts.

Conflict is a natural process which occurs in every formal organization simply because such an organization cannot be a homogeneous unit. Just as there are differences among individual
people, so inevitably there are differences between parts of organizations. There are also problems between the organization
and other organizations, regulatory bodies, communities, customers, and so on. In addition to the problems they pose for the organization, conflicts are "stressors," organizational conditions

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